proteome
(rus. протеом)
— Entire set of proteins and their modifications expressed in the cell, tissue or organism.

Description

The term proteome was proposed in 1994 by Australian researcher Mark Wilkins: "PROTEOME: the entire PROTEin complement expressed by a genOME." All biological processes in living organisms affect the proteome. The proteome of a given organism is not constant, since gene expression is influenced by many external environmental factors, as well as internal factors, changes within the body, such as those associated with age or disease. There are about forty thousand genes in the human genome, whereas about half a million proteins are synthesised in the human body. Many proteins interact with each other and affect the synthesis of other proteins. Research into the proteome of an organism is a formidable task that requires the combined efforts of many scientists and research centres. The study of the human proteome is a major international research project. In 2001, an international scientific organisation, the Human Proteome Organisation (HUPO), was established to work on this project, and the Human Proteome international research project was approved in 2008.

Decoding a proteome is believed to enable the identification of new molecular markers and to determine the underlying causes of diverse human pathologies. Currently, the proteomes of certain biological fluids of laboratory animals and humans have already been identified. For example, American scientists have made a protein map (proteome) of human saliva, identifying more than a thousand proteins in salivary gland secretions for large multi-ethnic groups, different genders and ages. The results were compared with the data on proteins present in blood and tears. Human saliva was found to contain markers of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's diseases, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer and diabetes. The researchers believe their findings will significantly expand the list of diseases diagnosed by the protein composition of saliva.